Geoff Gallop

Geoff Gallop

Geoffrey Ian "Geoff" Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th Premier of Western Australia. Born in Geraldton, Western Australia, Gallop studied at the University of Western Australia, and later progressed to St John's College at the University of Oxford after winning a Rhodes Scholarship. Having joined the Australian Labor Party in 1971, he served as a councillor for the City of Fremantle between 1983 and 1986, and was elected to the seat of Victoria Park in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly at the 1986 state election. Having held several portfolios in the preceding Lawrence Ministry (including Minister for Education), Gallop replaced Jim McGinty as Leader of the Opposition in 1996 following McGinty's resignation. At the 1996 election, Labor was heavily defeated by the incumbent Liberal Party led by Richard Court, but he remained as the party's leader, and at the 2001 election Labor was elected to government, with Gallop becoming premier. Having successfully contested the 2005 election, Gallop resigned from parliament in early 2006 in order to aid his recovery from depression, and was replaced by Alan Carpenter. After his resignation, he accepted a position as Professor and Director of the Graduate School of Government at the University of Sydney. Gallop is also the current chairman of the Australian Republican Movement.